IT is a sobering thought for Wanderers fans that of the 30 players who made the squad list on the back of Tuesday night’s programme, only half are contracted to stay at the club beyond the summer.

That’s the picture Neil Lennon is facing as he ponders which direction the club will move in next season.

These are intriguing times for the Whites, who have already undergone a radical refurbishment since Lennon’s arrival back in October.

A cluster of recent signings, coupled with crippling injury problems has made the team almost unrecognisable from the one that started the season against Watford under Dougie Freedman, in more ways than one.

Wanderers look like the archetypal team in transition and are likely to do so for some time.

Of Lennon’s current options, seven players belong to other clubs, and four of them – Adam Le Fondre, Rochinha, Simeon Slavchev and Barry Bannan – have time remaining on their contracts elsewhere.

Of the other loanees, Ben Amos, Saidy Janko and Kevin McNaughton are up for grabs in the summer, assuming their parent clubs do not extend their current deals.

Wanderers have become adept at working the loan market to their advantage since dropping into the Championship but having so many arrive all at once has caused its own problems.

Lennon has not been able to give deadline-day signings Rochinha or Slavchev the game time he would like because Football League rules dictate he can only name five loanees in any matchday squad. And that situation could get worse in the next couple of weeks as the manager once again tries to plug gaps left by injuries to David Wheater and Zach Clough.

Another eight senior players are out of contract in the summer, not including those now out on loan.

Among them are both senior goalkeepers, Adam Bogdan and Andy Lonergan, his captain Matt Mills and two of his most recognisable signings in Eidur Gudjohnsen and Emile Heskey.

That contract extensions have not been agreed for some players says more about the club’s precarious league position than anything else.

Mills wants to stay and it would be some surprise if the club thought otherwise, while Darren Pratley and Craig Davies have both performed well for Lennon.

Whether one or both keepers will stay is a matter for debate, particularly since Amos has impressed in their absence.

Whether Gudjohnsen and Heskey want to play on for another 12 months might come down to how they feel in a few months’ time; Wanderers fans would love to have them.

But it may also rest with how much of a fresh start Lennon really wants.

He has hinted he will have cash to spend and has targets in mind, but he has been critical of the wage structure, feeling the club has “spent too much” on players in the past. However the fact Wanderers will take their final parachute payment from the Premier League this year may mean resources are squeezed further.

The answer to that problem may come from the players currently out on loan.

Jermaine Beckford is scoring at Preston but will surely be freed at the end of his current Wanderers deal. The same can be said of Keith Andrews, now at MK Dons but still partially on the Whites’ payroll.

Jay Spearing’s future is less clear cut. He went to Blackburn with a ringing endorsement from Lennon and was also present on Tuesday night to see his team-mates behind the scenes. The former skipper has time left on his contract and would be a marketable commodity in the summer.

That is also the case for another Ewood exile, Alex Baptiste, who has spoken publicly of his desire to stay with Rovers despite having time left on his Macron deal.

Medo Kamara is expected to make his move to Israeli club Maccabi Haifa permanent in July, removing another high earner from the wage bill, while youngster Niall Maher will also remain at Blackpool.

The changing face of Bolton Wanderers has been hard to track over the last 12 months but assuming Championship status is retained in the coming weeks, you ain’t seen nothing yet.